Wild Rides and Regret in Oklahoma

Posted January 13, 2011byMPPL

For some folks, sometimes feeling free is more important than feeling safe, even if it means you’re in danger of getting a hoof to the face, a broken collarbone, a kick to the ribs, bull horns to your hide or worse. Since 1940, Oklahoma has offered its inmates the option of participating in the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo. In 2006, women were given tryouts as well. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, directed by Bradley Beesley, chronicles the second year of female participation, along with the parole hearings, family dramas and lockdowns that occur on the way. It’s a roughhouse rodeo show, where there’s bound to be blood, but it’s also eight seconds of breathing free.